Fewer Pa. school districts seek property-tax exceptions

March 11, 2008

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Fewer school districts will be able to raise property taxes above the inflation rate for the 2008-09 school year without seeking approval from the voters, the state Education Department said Monday.

Referendum exceptions were granted to 102 of Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts this year, compared to 210 districts last year, according to figures released by the department.

The 50-percent decline may be linked partly to school boards having greater sensitivity to taxpayers’ pocketbooks amid a weakening national economy, department spokesman Michael Race said.

Education officials also believe more districts have grown accustomed to working within the taxing limitations, given that they have been in effect for two years, Race said. As a result, fewer districts were inclined to seek exceptions merely to give themselves more flexibility to exceed the inflationary index, he said.

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“They’ve become more familiar with the process, so they are more adept at working within the system,” Race said. “In the first year, a lot of schools, in an effort to cover all their bases, applied for exceptions and ended up not needing them.”

State law requires school districts to keep tax increases within an inflationary index that is tied in part to the statewide average weekly wage and varies from district to district. This year, the indexes range from 4.4 percent to 7.1 percent — higher levels than in the previous year.

Larger tax increases must be placed on the April 22 primary ballot unless districts can demonstrate to state officials or a county judge that the increases are linked to certain factors beyond their control. Those factors include the costs of pension contributions, special education and health insurance.

Special education costs were the most popular referendum exception, granted to 75 districts.

Tim Allwein, a lobbyist for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said the decline in exception-seeking could be linked to still other factors, such as voters ousting school board members in districts that exceeded the index and electing more fiscally conservative candidates to replace them.

“Some of it may be fallout from last year’s (school board) election,” Allwein said.

The department rejected referendum exceptions for four school districts: South Fayette Township in suburban Pittsburgh; Jenkintown and Methacton in suburban Philadelphia; and Hanover Public School District in York County.

Among those districts, South Fayette’s request carried the highest price tag — nearly $1.3 million in additional revenue needed for enrollment growth, special education and retirement contributions.

If the exceptions had been granted, the district planned to restore some money it had already cut from the budget for new teachers, business manager George Safin said.

“Budgeting conservatively helps us,” Safin said.

The local tax limits were imposed under a 2006 law aimed at cutting property taxes for homeowners.